BJP is in practice of twisting history: Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru, Nov 1: Former chief minister and Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha Siddaramaiah on Friday launched a scathing attack on the state government, saying the BJP is in the practice of twisting history and telling lies.

"Twisting history and telling lies are the fundamental rights of the BJP. This is how they try to lie about history," Siddaramaiah told reporters at the Press Club here.

"Jagdish Shettar also wrote about Tipu Sultan in a book in which he praised him as the tiger of Mysore and a unique leader. For political benefits, they have taken took Tipu's name. They forget facts and issues and take up emotional issues for politics," he added.

Siddaramaiah further said that he will give the state government zero out of 100 marks for their lacklustre performance in the past three months they have been in power.

"Karnataka's present government is an unholy government. This government is short of numbers. If BS Yediyurappa cannot win 7-8 seats, what will be the scenario? Yediyurappa will have to resign," he said.

"On August 3, the rains started which caused the flood. Three months have passed. I have visited all the flood-affected places in the state. I heard the affected people and gave my statement but Yediyurappa said that my statement was baseless," he added.

He further alleged that nobody in the villages who lost their livelihood has got any relief yet. Farmers, who lost crops, did not get the compensation.

"The government did not do any survey. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the state but he never visited any flood-affected place. BJP has got 25 MPs from the state. That is why I say Yediyurappa is the weakest Chief Minister," he said.

"Rs 35,065 crore was sought by the state government but got only Rs 1,224 crore," he said.

Speaking about the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) issue, Siddaramaiah said: 
"Farmers are against the RCEP. They came on the road after the government decided to sign an agreement with other countries like New Zealand, China, Australia, and Japan."

"We are very much worried already because of Chinese products. What if Australia and New Zealand milk enters the country? Farmers will come on the streets. More than 10 crore people in the country will suffer if the RCEP is signed."

He further said the Congress is taking the RCEP issue very strongly and will protest in favour of our milk producers.